Love Actually
by elenastarkiller
Summary: The movie Love Actually with Vampire Diaries characters! AU/AH. Follows the lives of six very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England. Delena Datherine Stefarine Klaroline Forwood Beremy Jelaric Alaric/Meredith Mabekah Elijah/Tatia
1. Chapter 1

**So this is going to be based on the movie _Love Actually_. :D All the major pairings (Datherine, Stefarine, Forwood, Klaroline, Delena, Mabekah, Jalaric, Beremy, Elijah/Tatia) will be taken care of in this story, but some family members aren't related anymore:**

**The doppelgangers do not look the same and are not from the same bloodline**

**Nik, Elijah, Kol and Rebekah are not related (Kol and Tatia are)**

**Elena and Jeremy are not related (Jeremy is younger than in the show: 10)**

**And this takes place in London, England :D**

**I think that's all…please enjoy and review!**

* * *

Damon was late for Caroline and Tyler's wedding. He hurriedly found a tie to match his suit, feeling Katherine's eyes watching him.

"You're going to be late," the love of his life smiled. She was sick, so she decided she did not have to come to the wedding. Damon smirked back at her from the mirror.

"How do I look?" he asked with a knowing smile on his face.

"Dashing," she purred. "How about me?" She pulled the sheet off of her and forced a weak smile.

Damon smiled. "Perfect." He walked over to her. "You're perfect even when you look sick and disgusting." He kissed her after that, and she giggled in his mouth.

After a second, she pushed him off her. "You're going to be late!" she told him again with a smile on her face. He nodded and ran toward his shoes.

As soon as he had them on, he left the room. Of course, he couldn't leave without yelling "I love you, Katherine!" to his true love.

Damon truly wished Katherine wasn't feeling under the weather. He loved flaunting her at all these parties and events. If she was perfect when she was sick, she was supernaturally spectacular when she got dressed up. He couldn't describe how lucky he felt to have someone like her in his life.

As Damon drove away, he thought he saw his brother, Stefan, pull up to his house. He recognized the car…but he must be mistaken. Damon shrugged as he focused on speeding so he could make it to see Caroline's big day on time.

* * *

"Yes, Kol, I have a wedding to go to today," Tatia told her brother softly. She paused to hear his response. "I'll come by as soon as I can, ok, little darling?" She paused again. "Ok. Bye, Kol."

Tatia let out an exhausted sigh as she hung up the phone. She had spent the night working with her brother and keeping him company, and now she had Caroline and Tyler's wedding to attend. She looked at herself in the mirror. _Eh…presentable_, she thought. It would have to do, for she was extremely late. At least Elijah wouldn't be there…she really had to stop thinking about Elijah.

It had been 2 years since she had met the tall, brown-haired man she worked with. They had never flirted or shown attraction to each other at all, but she was truly head over heels for him. She hoped she wasn't too conspicuous about her crush on him, but she was sure even her boss, Mason, knew about her attraction to Elijah. She also wondered if Elijah was attracted to her…she had never really seen the signs, but a girl could hope. And wouldn't it be a dream come true for him to finally say something…what a Christmas present that would be. She smiled at herself in the mirror one last time before grabbing her purse and her shoes and making her way down her white stairs. She knew her friend, Damon, along with Caroline, would be mad if she were late to this wedding.

As she made her way to her car, she couldn't help but daydream more about Elijah and all the things they could do with each other…and to each other…. She shook her head. _No._ She had to focus on Caroline and Tyler. Yes.

Well, at least Damon would be there to keep her mind off her crush.

* * *

Tyler was standing next to his best man, Nik. He was nervous and excited beyond belief. Was that how one was supposed to feel at his wedding? He thought it was.

It was almost time to start the ceremony, and the last people were filing in. He saw Damon and Tatia sit next to each other, of course. He then looked over at Nik.

"No surprises this time, right?" he asked his friend warily. Nik was known to do things out of the box to surprise his friend and, on occasion, Caroline, too.

Nik shook his head no. "No surprises," he said sincerely.

"Not like the stag night?" Tyler grinned. That surprise was definitely not for Caroline.

"Unlike the stag night," Nik smiled in agreement.

"You admit the prostitutes were a mistake?" Tyler continued, grinning like a madman.

"I do," Nik said with mock sincerity.

"And it would've been much better if they'd not turned out to be men?" Tyler almost laughed at the embarrassed expression on his best friend's face.

"That is true," Nik replied with the same mocking tone.

With that, Pachelbel Canon began, and Nik pushed Tyler to where the man was supposed to wait for his bride. "Good luck, mate," Nik murmured with a smile.

As soon as Tyler saw Caroline, his face lit up. She was beautiful in every way, and he couldn't believe he was finally hers. He didn't understand why Nik didn't like her very much.

As he took her hand in his with a loving smile on his face, he felt like the luckiest man in the world. He hoped the videographer and Nik were getting this on camera because Tyler knew he'd want to relive this moment over and over again.

* * *

Nik watched as Tyler and Caroline said their "I dos" with a smile on his face. They were perfect together…she was perfect. Shit. That's not what he meant…he knew it was though. Why else would he be filming her and no one else? He was in love with his best friend's girl. He could never act on it though, that wasn't who he was. He would never betray Tyler like that. He stuck to watching longingly from a distance, literally. He had the feeling they both thought he didn't like Caroline…they couldn't be more wrong. All he wanted was her, he was consumed by her, but this was her wedding day, and he wasn't the one saying the "I do," Tyler was. And he had to accept that and move on. _Easier said than done_, he thought.

Oh, he also enjoyed lying to Tyler about no surprises. Of course there was one. They just didn't know it yet. Once Caroline and Tyler turned to walk back down the aisle hand in hand, Tyler got the chance to whisper to Nik, "And you resisted the temptation of surprises."

Nik smiled knowingly in reply. "I'm mature now, mate."

Soon enough, his surprise went into action. He heard the choir voices start to sing, along with the power male vocalist. The look of sheer joy on Caroline's face was worth it all to Nik…and his friend's happiness, too, of course.

Nik heard Caroline ask Tyler, "Did you do this?" with excitement on her face.

Tyler replied, "Er…no," and looked back at Nik with a smile on his face. Nik jokingly gesticulated that it was _not _him, but all three knew it was Nik's doing. Nik kept his camera rolling on Caroline's face, so he could remember her happiness from something he did for her. And for Tyler…but who was he kidding? It was all for her, but she'd never have to know. He was ok with that.

* * *

Damon left the wedding after the ceremony to check up on Katherine. He didn't want to keep her waiting for him all sick and alone. As he walked into his house, Stefan came around the corner toward the front door.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Damon said with a smile.

Stefan moved his feet around. "Oh…I just um…popped over to borrow some old movies." His smile was fake and weak, but Damon didn't notice.

"The lady of the house let you in, did she?" Damon asked. Stefan nodded. "She's lovely, isn't she?" Damon said, grinning. Stefan merely nodded again. "I thought I'd pop back in and see if she's better."

Damon quickly went off on a tangent, oblivious to Stefan's mental pleading for Damon to leave. "I've been thinking. We should take Mum out for her birthday. I feel—"

Damon was cut off by the sound of Katherine's voice. "Hurry up, Stefan! I'm naked and I want to fuck you senseless at least twice before Damon gets back!"

The first thing Damon's mind did was go blank. He stared at Stefan, betrayal seeping through his expressions. Stefan looked down once again and swallowed.

Damon didn't say a word to his brother. He stormed out of the house and into his car, bursting into silent tears as he did. The betrayal he felt was indescribable. His heart was shattering into a million pieces. How could his own brother do this to him?

He didn't bother going back to the wedding. He decided to take a trip to his vacation home in France. Hopefully, Katherine and Stefan would be out of his house by the time he returned.


	2. Chapter 2

Matt, the new Prime Minister of Britain, arrived at his new home of 10 Downing Street, London. There were cameras flashing as he entered the front door, and he waved to all the people.

Once inside, he was greeted by his assistant, Vicki. "How do you feel?" she asked him.

"Hmm," he thought for a second. "Cool. Powerful," he smiled jokingly.

"I'm going to introduce you to your household staff," she told him. He saw a line of three people waiting for him in the next room, and he smiled at them all.

"This is Richard," she said. "He is in charge."

Matt shook the man's hand. "I had an uncle named Richard," he told the man. "Hated him though. He was a pervert. But I like the look of you." Matt moved onto the next person before he could see the look of outrage on Richard's face.

"This is Pearl, the housekeeper," Vicki said.

Matt shook Pearl's hand and went off on another tangent. "I should be easier than the last lot. No pets, no kids, no scary wife." He grinned and then moved onto the last girl.

He took a moment to look her over. She was beautiful and young, probably in her early twenties. "This is Rebekah," Vicki informed him.

He shook Rebekah's hand. "Hello, Rebekah," he smiled.

"Hello, Matt," she said with a bright smile on her face. "I mean, sir. Shit, I can't believe I just called you Matt. And now I've gone and said 'shit'. Twice." Her face was a deep red. "I'm so sorry, sir."

Matt thought it was the funniest and cutest thing in the world. He replied, "You could've said 'fuck' and we'd have been in real trouble." Matt gave her a warm smile.

She broke into a small smile. "Thank you, sir. I really thought I was going to fuck up on my first day." With that, she covered her mouth and got even redder than before. Matt merely laughed. "Oh piss it," she finished.

Matt smiled at her again. "Well it was nice meeting you, Rebekah." He walked away with Vicki, turning around to look at Rebekah one last time before turning a corner.

* * *

Alaric stood at the front of the church staring at Jenna's coffin. He still couldn't believe the cancer had finally ended her, leaving him behind with her 10-year-old son, Jeremy. She was so young, and she deserved to have lived much longer, but that wasn't the way life worked. So here he was, saying his final words to his beloved.

"Jenna and I had a lot of time to prepare for this moment," he began. "Some of her requests, for instance, that I should bring Heidi Klum as my date to the funeral, I was confident she expected me to ignore. But others she was pretty damn clear about. When she first mentioned what was about to happen, I said, 'Over my dead body.' And she said, 'No, Rick, over mine.' And as usual, my darling girl... and Jeremy's darling mum was right. So she's going to say her final farewell to you not through me but, inevitably, ever so coolly, through the immortal genius of the Bay City Rollers." By this time Alaric was holding back the tears that threatened to start falling again as "Bye Bye Baby" began to play along with a slideshow of pictures commemorating Jenna.

The music kept playing after the slideshow ended, and Alaric proceeded to lift up his deceased wife's coffin and carry it out, silent tears falling down his cheeks as he did so.

Before he exited out the church with the coffin, he managed to catch a glimpse of a distraught Jeremy. He decided then and there that he was going to be the best parent Jeremy had ever had, biological or not. Jeremy was his future now.

* * *

Nik was watching and filming Caroline and Tyler dance to "Bye Bye Baby" at the wedding reception. He watched through the camera screen as Caroline burst into laughter at something Tyler said, wishing that he was the one to make her laugh.

All of a sudden, Tatia pulled up a chair next to him. "Do you love him?" she questioned blunty. My mind reeled at the unexpected question.

"Uh…what?" Nik laughed nervously.

"Oh…I thought I'd just ask in case I was right and you needed someone to talk to about it…." Her face flushed red and he held back more laughter. She was so off she was close to the truth.

"No. Definitely not," Nik replied.

There was an awkward silence before she continued to talk to Nik. "Do you think this DJ is the worst in history?"

He smiled amusedly. "Most likely," he told her.

She smiled back. "I think it all hangs on the next song," she said back.

Their thoughts were confirmed when an even worse song came on after "Bye Bye Baby". Nik laughed. "He's done it, it's official," he said.

"Worst DJ in the world," she replied with a smile. The song kept playing as Nik watched Caroline longingly and talked to Tatia.

* * *

Tatia showed up to work the next day with a hangover. She couldn't've slept anyway; Kol had woken her up with a phone call. It wasn't long before Mason sent his new assistant, Jules, to come get her. There was something shady about the girl that Tatia couldn't place, but she didn't think twice about it.

Tatia walked into Mason's office, and he motioned for her to sit.

"How long have you been working for me, Tatia?" he asked.

"Uh…about 2 years, 7 months, 8 days, 2 hours…or so," Tatia replied nervously. Why did she know that?

"And how long have you been in love with Elijah?"

Tatia's face fell. _Oh. That's why._ "2 years, 7 months, 8 days, and 1 ½ hours…or so," she replied quietly. Her face reddened of embarrassment. She _knew _that Mason had known.

"Do you think everyone knows?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes," he replied seriously.

"Do you think Elijah knows?" she asked more hysterically.

"Yes," he said again.

"That is _really_ not good," Tatia said. She was freaking out inside. Elijah couldn't know, he couldn't. How embarrassing would that be?

"I think you need to ask the guy out for drinks or something."

I looked up at my boss. "What?"

"Go out for drinks, then casually mention you'd like to marry him and have lots of sex and babies."

Tatia had never felt so embarrassed in her life. Her hands were clenched into fists and her whole body was shaking. "You...you know about that?" she asked quietly.

"_Yes._ And so does Elijah. So do something about it, for God's sake. It's Christmas."

Tatia nodded and stood up. As she walked out, she bumped into Elijah.

"Hi," Tatia said quickly. She then walked out past him. _What if Mason was giving Elijah the same lecture? _she thought.

However, she didn't have much time to think about it, for at that moment Kol called again.

She immediately answered it. "Hi, little darling." She paused. "No, I'm not busy. Tell me whatever you need to." With that, she sat back down at her desk and listened to her brother's rants for the second time that day.


	3. Chapter 3

Matt was in a meeting with his cabinet and bored beyond belief. He really hated business, but he was the one who chose to be a politician.

"So. What's next?" he asked, cutting off a man who was on a rant.

"The President's visit," Luka, one of the members, replied. Matt nodded. Now here was something interesting.

"This is going to be difficult to play, Luka," Matt said. The members of the cabinet all showed signs of agreement.

"There's a strong feeling in the party we mustn't allow the President to bully us…" Luka told Matt. Matt already knew this, of course, but at least he knew his cabinet member was on top of things.

"Let's take a stand!" Bill, another member, called out.

Matt swallowed, knowing what he was about to decide wouldn't go over well. "Right…I understand the party's wishes but I have decided…not to." The indignance on all the members' faces was exactly what Matt had wanted to avoid, but he was in charge, not them. "We will, of course, try to be clever, but we cannot forget that America is the most powerful country in the world. I refuse to behave like a petulant child." The cabinet could tell that Matt was speaking from his heart, and that he truly believed what he was saying.

After a pause in the discussion, Matt continued, "Who do you have to screw around here to get some tea and biscuits?"

At that moment, Rebekah walked in with a platter of tea and biscuits, and Matt swallowed. It would be her…out of all people. He stared at her as she handed out tea and biscuits to the entire cabinet, muttering, "Right," as she did. He would really have to be careful next time.

* * *

"I don't know what's wrong with him," Alaric told Isobel. Isobel was his confidante and friend. He had no idea how many times he'd called her after Jenna died, drunk and crying about his grief. She had listened to him every time, helping him through it and reminding him that he had Jeremy to take care of. Now, he needed to talk to her about Jeremy.

"There's nothing unusual about him staying in his room all the time. My son always stays in his room. Thank god."

Alaric shook his head in disagreement. "No, you don't get it. This is _all _the time. What if there's something really wrong? What if he's shooting heroin into his eyeballs?"

Isobel held back a laugh. "At 10?"

Alaric smiled a little bit. "Ok, maybe not his eyes. Just his veins." Alaric sighed. "I just don't know how do be a parent…the whole stepdad thing had never seemed so important before. And now that Jenna's gone…" Alaric trailed off, never finishing his thought.

"Look," Isobel replied. "There's no way around the fact that this is a shit time. Be patient. And check the room for needles," she smiled.

Alaric nodded. "And sometimes, when he does come out, it's obvious he's been crying. If Jenna's death is going to ruin Jeremy's life…"

Isobel stopped him there. "Don't be such a sissy. Your never gonna get shagged if you're always crying and drunk off your ass."

Alaric glared. "Wow. How helpful." Isobel merely smiled at him, hoping something she said clicked with him.

* * *

Later that day, Matt was working on some papers in his office when someone knocked.

"Come in!" he called. Sure enough, it was Rebekah. He smiled at her as she walked up to his desk.

"These are from the Treasury…" she placed a massive stack of papers on Matt's desk. He groaned, and she smiled at his displeasure.

Next, she placed a tray of tea and chocolate biscuits on his desk. "And these are for you." She gave him a warm smile.

"Thanks," Matt smiled. "I appreciate it." He couldn't help but stare into her beautiful blue eyes…

"I was hoping you'd win," she told him. "Not that I wouldn't have been nice to the other bloke. Just always would've given him the boring biscuits with no chocolate." She smiled and turned to leave.

Matt chuckled. "Thank you very much…" By then, Rebekah had already left the room. "Rebekah." He sighed. "You're the Prime Minister, for Christ's sake," he muttered to himself. "Get a grip, Matt." He got back to work, his mind filled with Rebekah.

* * *

Alaric had finally gotten Jeremy out of his room and on a walk with him. They had gotten ice cream and were now sitting on a bench.

Alaric finally got up the nerve to ask Jeremy what was wrong. "So, what's the problem, Jer? Is it just Mum…or is it school, or something else? Are you getting bullied or something?"

Jeremy looked at him like he was crazy. "You really want to know?" he asked. His real dad had never asked him anything like this before. Granted, he was younger when his dad was around, but that was beside the point.

Alaric nodded. "I really want to know."

"Even though you're not going to be able to do anything to help?" Jeremy inquired.

Alaric nodded again. "Yes."

Jeremy swallowed. "Ok. The truth is…I'm in love." Jeremy looked up at his stepfather, waiting to see what the man would say.

Alaric was stunned. _That's _what this was? "What?" he asked Jeremy.

Jeremy started talking quickly. "I know I should be focused on losing Mum all the time and I am but the truth is, I'm in love. I was before Mum died and there's nothing I can do about it."

Alaric didn't know what to say. A 10-year-old? In love? "Aren't you a little, um, young to be in love?" he asked the young boy.

Jeremy shook his head. "Of course not," he said with all sincerity.

Alaric sighed in relief. "Well thank god. I thought it was going to be something worse."

Jeremy looked offended. "Worse than the total agony of being in love?" he retorted.

Alaric was trying not to laugh at the entire situation. "No, you're right…total agony," he replied.

How was he supposed to help a prepubescent boy in love? He was fucked, but he was going to try and help Jeremy anyway. That was his job as a stepfather, and he was going to see it through no matter the situation.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you all are liking the story! Who is your favorite pairing? Let me know! :) Next chapter will hopefully be up soon...it's finals week (late, I know) so I might be busy but it's coming!**


	4. Chapter 4

Tatia worked overtime that night. After the phone call with Kol, she still couldn't stop thinking about what Mason might've told Elijah. She wouldn't put it past Mason to tell Elijah everything she felt for him. She was nervous all day, tapping on her desk and twirling her hair. Thank god Elijah couldn't see her from his desk.

Apparently Elijah had worked overtime, too, for his light shut out at around 8PM that night. Tatia's head went up, and she started fidgeting uncontrollably when she realized it was Elijah who was still here. She had had so many fantasies about a moment like this…two people alone in an office at night…. _God_, she had to stop doing that. It wasn't good for her at all.

Elijah walked past her on his way out. "Good night, Tatia," he said to her. His accent wasn't a normal British one. She couldn't pinpoint what it was; all she knew was that it was sexy beyond belief.

She nodded in response. "Night, Elijah…." Her eyes followed her crush as he walked into the elevator.

Before she could fantasize about him more, her phone rang once again. She answered it immediately.

"Hi little darling." She waited a second. "I'm as free as a bird. Fire away."

Tatia sighed as she got comfortable in her chair. She wasn't leaving work for a while.

* * *

Damon finally arrived at his home in France, relieved that he had finally gotten away from his vile brother and ex-girlfriend. He honestly never wanted to see either of them again, and France was the place to go in order to do that.

Damon got out of the taxi that drove him to his large home, and sighed. "Alone again," he muttered to himself. "Of course."

With that, Damon picked up his small amount of luggage and carried it into his home. He knew his friend, Rose, would be here to check up on him soon enough. She kept watch on the house for him when he was gone which he greatly appreciated.

While he waited for her to show, Damon unpacked and got out his typewriter. Though computers were the new technology, he preferred his typewriter above them, and his typewriter was cheaper, anyway. He also liked the feel of his fingers typing on the keys as he watched his stories come to life.

It didn't take long for Rose to knock on his door. He hastily opened the door and greeted her in his deplorable French. "Uh…bonjour, Rose," he smiled at her.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Salvatore," she smirked back. "Welcome back. Where is your lady guest?" she inquired in choppy English.

Damon swallowed. He was supposed to have brought Katherine here for a nice Christmas together…well that had gone to shit, hadn't it?

"It's just me now," he told her grimly.

"Should I be sad?"

"I think you should at least act surprised," he gave her one of his grins, though it must have seemed transparent due to the fact that he wasn't happy at all.

"You stay 'til Christmas?" she questioned. Damon nodded.

"Good," she replied. "I found a cleaning lady for you," she informed him. "Elena." She turned and pointed to a young woman standing by her car.

Damon double took when he saw Elena. She was beautiful beyond belief, prettier than he ever thought Katherine to be. "Uh…bonjour, Elena," he said quietly. Why couldn't he speak better French? "Je suis…uhh…tres heureux de vous avoir ici…" Was he saying that right? He had meant to say I'm very happy to have you here…he hoped he wasn't butchering it.

Rose laughed. "She only speaks Portuguese," she told Damon. _Well fuck_, he thought to himself. If he couldn't speak French, he couldn't even begin to speak Portuguese.

He stuttered trying to come up with words to say to her. "Buongiorno? Eusebio, uhh…er, molto bueno…" That was definitely two different languages.

Rose laughed again. "She's ten years too young to remember a footballer called Eusebio. And that last part was Spanish."

Elena smiled amusedly at the man. He was handsome, and adorable when trying to talk to her, but she didn't speak anything other than Portuguese and therefore couldn't tell him that.

Damon gave up and stuck to English. "Oh. Well, Elena, it's nice to meet you and—"

Rose cut him off. "And you can drive her home after work every day."

Damon nodded. "Oh yeah. Sure. C-con grande…plesura?"

Rose smirked. "What are you speaking now? Turkish?"

Damon glared at his friend. How much more of an idiot could he look like in front of Elena? He glanced back at his new housekeeper. She had an amused expression. He wondered what she thought of him. _She probably thinks you're a stupid bloke, _he thought to himself. He hoped not. He really did want to get to know her better.

* * *

A week later, Rebekah came in to give Matt his daily tea and biscuits once again.

"Rebekah," he smiled at her. She always got a weird feeling in her stomach when he did that, like butterflies fluttering through her body. She loved it.

"Sir," she smiled back. She gently placed his tray on his desk.

"Thanks…um, I'm starting to feel…uncomfortable about us working in such close proximity every day and me knowing so little about you."

She cocked her head to the side questioningly. He was asking about her life? That was weird… "There's not much to know," she replied.

"How about…where you live?" he inquired.

"Wandsworth," she answered instinctually. "The dodgy end."

"The dodgy end?" he asked.

"Right at the end of the high street, Harris Street, near the Queen's Head," she told him. Why did he care where she lived?

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah that is dodgy…so do you live with your husband? Boyfriend? Some illegitimate but wonderful kids?"

She bit her lip. Was he flirting with her? She really hoped he was…she couldn't help but feel attracted to him. So what if he was older than her? He was smart, and sweet, and funny…oh god. He was the Prime Minister. She could not do this to herself.

Even though she knew it was wrong to lead him on, she told him, "I've just broken up with my boyfriend. I'm back with my parents."

"I'm sorry," he replied.

"It's ok," she responded. "I couldn't handle much more of him anyway…he kept telling me I was getting fat."

The look of shock on his face made her feel a little better about herself. "Seriously?" he asked.

Rebekah nodded. She hated dwelling on her ex. He was a piece of shit, really. "He told me no one would ever go for a girl with thighs the size of tree trunks. He wasn't really nice to me…" she trailed off. She hoped Matt could tell she was feeling uncomfortable.

Matt gave her a warm smile. "You know, I could just have him murdered. I am the Prime Minister."

Rebekah giggled. How horrible was that? "I'll think about it," she smiled at him.

"Please do," he replied. "The SAS are absolutely charming. Ruthless, trained killers are just a phone call away."

With a final giggle and smile, Rebekah left the room. Why did he have to be so perfect and unattainable?

* * *

Alaric was in his living room with Jeremy, trying to help the kid. First, he had to know more about this girl Jeremy was crushing on.

"We can do this," Alaric told Jeremy confidently, although he wasn't too sure on the inside. "It's someone at school, right?" he asked.

Jeremy nodded.

"Ok. And what does she, he, feel about you?" Alaric wanted to make sure he covered all boundaries. He honestly didn't care if Jeremy was gay, but he hoped it was a girl the young boy was crushing on, for then it would be easier to help him.

"_She_," Jeremy emphasized. _Thank the Lord, _Alaric thought. "She doesn't even know my name. And if she did know me, I think she'd hate me…she's the most popular girl at school. Everyone worships her because she's heaven."

Alaric smiled at Jeremy. He could tell that the boy was deeply troubled by his love life, and Alaric found Jeremy's maturity extremely surprising and amusing.

"So you're basically fucked, huh?" Alaric grinned.

Jeremy nodded, and Alaric pulled him into a hug. "We'll figure this out. One step at a time, ok?"

Jeremy nodded again, glad that he had Alaric to count on as a friend.


	5. Chapter 5

Nik was working at his photo studio. He had just got off the phone with a secretary from a design firm who wanted to schedule a Christmas work party there. He felt the urge to decline for some reason, but he agreed because hey, money was money.

As he put down the phone, a group of teenage girls came in. They laughed at his photos, though for what reason Nik didn't understand. The girls immediately ran out of the studio, still giggling madly to Nik's sheer annoyance.

"It's not funny, it's art!" he yelled as they ran away.

Just then, his phone rang again. This time it was Tyler.

"Hey, mate," Nik smiled.

"Hey," Tyler replied. "Do you want to catch the football game Thursday night?"

Nik smiled. He hadn't seen Tyler in what felt like ages, for Tyler and Caroline had been on their honeymoon. Nik tried to avoid thinking about that…he could just picture her giving over to Tyler. He would be thrusting hard into her, and she'd be moaning his name, _screaming _it in that beautiful voice of hers…. _Why can't she be _mine_? _Nik thought.

"Definitely," Nik finally replied.

"Great," said Tyler. "Listen, Caroline needs to ask you something. I'm gonna patch you through. _Be nice_," Tyler emphasized.

Immediately, Nik began to panic. "Wait, wha—"

Nik was cut off by the sound of Caroline's voice. "Nik?" she questioned. Nik wanted her to say his name more, at least once….

In his daydreaming, he forgot to answer her. "Nik? Are you there?" she asked, louder this time.

"Oh, yes," he hastily replied. "Sorry."

Caroline sighed. She was never going to catch a break with Nik, was she? "Thank you for the sendoff to our honeymoon. I've been meaning to tell you."

Nik smiled. Another one of his surprises had been to have a boat waiting for Caroline and Tyler when they were to depart for their honeymoon. "Your welcome…how was it? The honeymoon, I mean," he stuttered. He couldn't believe how ridiculously retarded he sounded.

"Oh, it was great," she smiled. He could sense the pleasure dripping from her voice. He knew he could rock her world so much better than his friend….

"I saw you filming at the wedding," she continued, and Nik's heart stopped. Did she know he was only getting shots of her so he could watch it over and over in secret? He swallowed.

"Our videographer got horrible footage; it's all blue and gross. I was wondering if I could take a look at yours and see if it's usable."

Nik began to panic again. She definitely _could not _see that footage. No way in hell. "Uh…" he stuttered again.

"Please? It would mean the world to me," she begged. Oh god, why did she have to sound so perfect?

"I'm pretty sure I erased it," Nik finally replied, hoping he didn't sound like he was lying to her.

"Oh…" she said, disappointment apparent in her tone.

"I'll still look though," Nik quickly added. He knew he wouldn't, but he couldn't handle hearing her sound like that.

"I gotta go," Nik abruptly told her. He hung up right after that. How was he going to handle ever seeing her again when he knew she was married to his best friend on the planet? He couldn't even hold a goddamn civil phone conversation with her, let alone stand to see her next to Tyler.

He was going to have to deal with it, like it or not. He just wished it wasn't so hard.

* * *

Damon was driving Elena home for the first time, and he couldn't stand the silence. All day, she had gone about her duties, distracting him from his relationship problems with Katherine and Stefan, but he had been unable to tell her a single thing.

Damon once again tried to speak Portuguese to her, hoping he didn't sound like a complete idiot. "Bello. Er, bella. Er, mon-montagno, arbore..." Dammit, he sounded like a retarded lunatic. He sighed, and he saw her trying to hold back an adorable little smile.

"Right," he said to himself. "Silence is golden…" he looked at her, taking his eyes off of the road for a split second to admire her. She finally had let herself smile at his failed attempts to communicate with her, and he involuntarily gave her one of his trademark grins in return.

"Silencio est…" He groaned. "Shut up, Damon," he told himself. Elena laughed, and he could swear it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

He focused back on driving, aware of a slow, red blush that was creeping up on his face. She was doing things to him that he had never experienced before without saying a word, and he wanted to know how the hell that worked. He didn't just _blush_, for crying out loud. He was Damon Salvatore. He did not get Katherine by…he really had to stop thinking about Katherine. It was no good for him. Maybe Elena was a way to begin a new life, one without all the crap he had had to deal with before. He'd just have to wait and see.

* * *

The next day, the President of the United States arrived at the house of the Prime Minister. Matt welcomed the President into his home graciously, wanting to make a good impression on the man. He knew how unwise it was to anger the President.

"I'm sorry your wife couldn't make it," he told the President.

The President merely shrugged. "She would've gotten lonely, most likely."

Matt nodded in agreement. "Yeah, politics and dating don't really mix, do they?"

The President looked confused. "I've never found that…" he replied.

"Oh." _Whoops_, Matt thought. He had forgotten that this President had a rather…promiscuous reputation. Granted, not many knew about it, but being the Prime Minister, Matt had his informants everywhere.

Matt attempted to make a joke out of the situation. "Well the difference is you're at least attractive while I continue to look more and more like my Aunt Mildred daily," he grinned. The President seemed to appreciate the joke, for he cracked a smile at Matt.

At that moment, Rebekah passed the two politicians on her way down the stairs. Matt didn't like the way the President's eyes lingered on her figure.

"Hello, Rebekah," Matt smiled. Rebekah smiled back.

"Sir," she replied. She then kept walking down the stairs. Matt saw the President turn his head to stare at her ass. Matt's stomach twisted in knots. The President was not allowed to look at his staff that way. At all. He had the animal instinct to snarl at the man, maybe strangle him while he was at it. However, he was the Prime Minister, and he knew he would never do anything of the sort.

"She's a pretty son of a bitch. Did you see her rack?"

This time, Matt actually snarled. "She is my staff," he replied, anger apparent in his voice. "I don't see _any _of my staff that way." Wrong, but the President didn't have to know that Matt dreamt of having Rebekah to himself in more ways than one. "She is great at her job, and that is what matters." He gave the President a firm look, but the man merely laughed at Matt.

"I didn't mean to offend you," he chortled. With that, he went into the meeting room, where the rest of the British cabinet was waiting.


	6. Chapter 6

After the meeting, Matt took the President to his office for a drink. He had already asked someone to bring up the scotch, and he and the President were making small talk while they waited.

"I know we made no concessions today," the President told Matt. _No shit, _Matt thought. The entire meeting consisted of the British cabinet asking for simple, no big deal things and the American representatives shutting each idea down. Matt knew the entire cabinet was disappointed with his lack of backbone when it came to the Americans.

Matt remembered something else, one more idea that he hoped would go through. "It's ok," Matt replied. "I have one final thing that's very close to my heart. Let me go get the papers." With that, Matt stood up and left the room, passing Rebekah on his way out. He courteously opened the door for her so she could bring in the tray of alcohol to the President. She smiled at him as she walked in, and Matt could feel his heart racing. He had to stop doing that.

It didn't take Matt long to find the manila folder with all his research, and he headed back to his office in no time.

When Matt reentered the room, he froze in shock at the sight he was seeing. The President was holding Rebekah close to him at the waist, pulling her hair away from her delicate, porcelain neck. The look on Rebekah's face was one of pure fear.

"Hi," Matt said. His hands were curled into fists, and the anger in his expression could not be mistaken. Rebekah stared at him, embarrassment reddening her features. She instantly stepped away from the President and walked out of the room, tears forming in her eyes.

Matt glared at the President, but the President merely gave him a malicious smile back. "Great scotch," he said to Matt.

Matt let out a guttural snarl and left the room, knowing if he stayed, he would've done something irrevocably horrible to the most powerful man in the world.

* * *

An hour later, Matt was forced to show up at a press conference with the President. He gave his fake, political smile that the people seemed to enjoy, waving to all the cameras in the room. He did not notice Rebekah standing in the back behind all of the reporters, watching him longingly.

The President was asked by one reporter if his stay was pleasant, to which the man replied, "It was very satisfactory. Our relationship is firmly intact, and I hope to keep it exactly the way it is."

Matt snarled internally. He didn't want to give this man anything, especially not after disrespecting his…employee. Yes, that's all she was. An employee…

Matt called on another reporter, Andie. "Would you agree with the President, Mr. Prime Minister?"

Matt contemplated that question for a moment. After a second, he knew exactly what he was going to say, and that it was going to change the relationship between the two countries forever. "No, I would not agree with the President," Matt replied. "I think that Britain is in a bad relationship with the United States, one that consists of the President taking all he wants from us without any consequences. We may be a small country, but we are great. We are the land of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Harry Potter, even David Beckham's left foot." That earned some chuckles from the public. "And David Beckham's right foot." He sighed in determination. "A friend that bullies us is no longer a friend. It's time to take a stand in order to get what is best for Britain, not what is best for America. The American government, including the President, should be prepared for that."

The amount of applause he heard was never again matched in his life. Every reporter was on their feet, cheering and clapping in approval of Matt's speech. He grinned in appreciation, for he knew he had finally done the right thing.

The President was not a happy man. The amount of anger and shock he was feeling was evident on his face. Matt grinned at him, knowing he had finally done something that had been a long time coming.

In the back, Rebekah clapped along with everyone else, but she, unlike the rest, knew that he didn't just do this for Britain. He did it for her. Her heart felt warm and her stomach had thousands of butterflies inside it. She had never felt this way before, and she loved it. Matt was a good man. She would always remember that, whether they had a closer relationship or not.

* * *

Damon was writing in the living room on his typewriter. He couldn't help but notice Elena cleaning everything around him. He had never been a very neat person because he had never really cared before, but he knew Elena must think him a pig which he didn't want. She probably already thought he was insane, and he didn't want to add disorderly to that list.

Damon finished half his sandwich, then made a gesture to Elena asking if she wanted the other half.

Elena declined, saying in Portuguese, "No thank you. I'd rather not turn into my sister." She smiled, finding the joke funny although Damon had no idea what she was saying. She shook her head no just to get the message across.

Damon shrugged in response. "More for me," he replied, taking an obnoxious bite into the other half.

Elena groaned. Damon smirked in response. "You know, thank God I have such a great metabolism. I never get fat." He knew Elena couldn't understand a lick of what he was saying, but he had gotten used to their awkward one-way conversations.

Once Damon finished saying something, Elena said to him, "Don't eat that. You're getting fatter every day," in her native tongue. The man did not have the metabolism to eat as much as he did, yet he continued anyway. She didn't want him like her sister, either. She had taken a liking to him, and she wanted him to stay as handsome as he was now.

He kept eating repulsively, and Elena rolled her eyes at him as she continued to work.

She had never liked a man like she liked Damon, and she found it rather scary. Hell, she couldn't even talk to him! She did not know English, and he did not know Portuguese…and yet, that made their relationship even better. He was mysterious in his own way which she found intriguing. His demeanor and behavior were ridiculously funny to her, and she loved how he made her laugh without saying a word.

Yes, he was at least 7 years older than her, but she could overlook that. He was sexy and adorable, and she wanted to know him better.

She decided that as soon as she went home to Portugal, she would begin to learn English. That way, she could go find him again, and they would be able to talk to each other. She was excited to work on her new plan. However, she first had to get through her cleaning job here. He had a lot of shit for her to clean up which she actually appreciated, for it meant she got to stay later with him.

_Learn English, get Damon_, she thought. It was as easy as that. She couldn't wait to begin.


	7. Chapter 7

Later that day, Damon decided to take his typewriter outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. Also, he was getting way too distracted by Elena cleaning around him. He couldn't stop staring at her as she sashayed around the room dusting and vacuuming. It was making him unproductive and extremely hot and bothered, and he couldn't have that. He was just trying to get over Katherine, and he wasn't going to put her through being his rebound. He liked her too much to do it to her.

Anyway, here he was, alone at a table, looking over the lake, writing his stupid Stephen King knock-off novel. He didn't even think it was that good, but as long as it paid the bills, he couldn't care less.

He didn't avoid Elena for long, for she came out of the house to bring him water less than 20 minutes after he had fled the indoors. He gave her a polite smile which she returned gracefully. God, he loved her smile…it was beautiful.

"Thank you," he said to her, not sure if she even knew what that meant.

All of a sudden, a rather strong gust of wind blew his week's work away toward the lake. Damon's eyes widened in shock.

"Fuck!" he cried out.

Elena noticed at the same time he did. She cried out something in Portuguese which Damon assumed to be a curse word though he didn't know for sure. She then ran toward the small, wooden walkway, pulling off her shirt as she did so.

"No, you don't have to—" Damon began, but he was cut off by the sight of Elena stripping down to jump into the lake. _Holy shit_, Damon thought. She was stunning. He stared at her as she finally was only in her bra and underwear, and he couldn't help but be aroused. _Goddamn, that was exactly what I was trying to avoid,_ he cursed in his head. She then jumped in the water, screaming out a short sentence in Portuguese in reaction to something in the water.

"Now she's gonna think I'm a jackass if I don't jump in, too…." Damon groaned and quickly began stripping himself, cannonballing into the lake a few seconds behind Elena.

The first thing Damon noticed was the temperature of the water. Of course, it was winter…of course it would be freezing. "Fuck, it's cold!" he cried out, earning him a glance from Elena.

Elena didn't stare at him long, for she dove and swam like a maniac to retrieve the papers before they became unsalvageable.

"It's not worth it!" Damon called out to her, but obviously she had no idea what he was saying and didn't stop. Finally, Damon swam over to her and stopped her. "Stop," he said to her calmly. "Uh…para? No, that's Spanish, idiot."

Elena seemed to get the message anyway and nodded in acquiescence.

"It's not that good," Damon repeated. She gave him a blank stare back. A second later, she pointed to the shore, saying something in Portuguese that Damon didn't understand. He assumed she meant for them to get out, however, and he nodded and began swimming back to shore with her.

He was once again staring at her when she got out of the water, and he thought he saw her gazing at him, too, but he was probably wrong. She wouldn't want an idiot like him; there were obviously better men waiting for her at home. They then picked up their respective clothes and walked inside together to find towels to wrap themselves in.

* * *

Once Elena got towels for them both and made two cups of steaming coffee, they sat down next to each other and allowed themselves to finally laugh at the situation they had just faced. All Elena could think of was that the damn man should have made some copies or started using a computer. Then again, she wouldn't have gotten to see him in his half-naked glory if he hadn't dropped those papers…when she saw him out of the water, she couldn't help but stare. That man was perfect beyond belief, from his gorgeous, charming smirk to his very clearly defined abs. It took all Elena had to stop admiring his body and go inside with him.

Damon began to talk to her in English, saying, "Thank you for trying. A character will be named after you. Or maybe you'll get 5% of the profits." He gave her his signature smirk, one that meant he was joking with her. However, all she could make out a thank you, and after that, she was lost.

"You should give me 50% of the profits," she joked in Portuguese. The man at least should name a character after her. Elena knew he had no idea what she was saying, for he gave her his nervous smile, an obvious signal that he didn't know what to say. Elena loved his nervous smile the most of all; it made her want to laugh, something she never really got around to very often.

"What kind of book is it?" she inquired in Portuguese. She then began to make hand gestures for different genres of novels, using a heart for romance, claws and a growl for horror, and a fake laugh for comedy.

"It's horror," he replied in English, using her claw and growl to answer her question. Elena liked using gestures; it guaranteed that she knew what Damon was trying to say. She smiled in response. He then said the same thing he had been trying to say at the lake, but she still didn't know what he meant. All she could make out was "good". Not much help.

"Um…I have to work," Elena finally said in her native tongue, pantomiming sweeping as she spoke. Damon nodded in acknowledgement, and she left to start on the bathrooms.

It wasn't that she wanted to leave Damon to go clean. It was just that she had a sense of responsibility, and Damon was on the highway to losing that completely. She could not be toying around with a man she couldn't even talk to. He would have to wait until after she finished her job here when she could properly learn English. Later, Elena could explain to him why she made him wait so long. Though he probably wouldn't care…there was no way he was as interested in her as she was in him. She would still try, anyway. Damon was worth a million tries. She smiled as she got out a toilet brush to begin the daunting task of this unorganized man's bathroom.

* * *

Caroline was done taking Nik's complete bullshit attitude toward her. He completely ignored her request to see his footage from the wedding. She didn't believe for a second that he didn't have it. She knew he was just messing with her for his own stupid amusement. Now, she was going to do something about it. Starting with a nice, apple-filled pastry as a peace offering.

Don't get her wrong, she was still pissed off at the man, but she knew how to handle people, and busting down any man's door and cursing him out was not a way to get on his good side. She was going to be nice, no matter how much it killed her. She was not going to ruin Tyler's only good relationship.

She knocked on Nik's door with a purpose, waiting impatiently for him to open the door. She had seen his car on the street, so she knew he was in there somewhere.

A couple seconds later, Nik opened the door, surprise all over his face. Caroline held back a feral smile and instead put on her polite, happy smile. "Hi," she smiled. "Apple Danish?" she asked.

Nik politely shook his head. "You know, now really isn't a good time…"

_Oh _hell_ no, _Caroline thought to herself. _You are not getting off the hook this time, you little asshole._ "It will only take a second," she replied, her smile faltering for a split second. She walked past him into his apartment, keeping her polite smile on her face. "I was wondering if I could see that wedding footage."

Nik stared at her incredulously for a moment before composing himself and answering her request. "Oh, I still don't know where it is. I'll look for it tonight…"

_That's it_. "Listen," Caroline commanded. "I know you don't like me. At all. And the only reason I put up with that is for Tyler. Now, I don't know why you like me, but I can say right now you don't know me enough to not like me. I'm a nice person, I promise. I don't like the fact that you haven't even given me a chance. So _please_, let us start over and try and be friends. Please." She ended with a pleading look at him. The man merely nodded in agreement.

"So," she finally continued, "the wedding video. Where is it, Nik?"

"I was serious about not knowing where it is…I checked everywhere when you called…" As he spoke, Caroline began searching his videotape shelf, searching for any trace of it. It took her all of five seconds to locate it. She rolled her eyes and pulled it off of the shelf.

"Could it be the one that's labeled 'Caroline and Tyler's Wedding'?" she asked, her impatience with him leaking through her controlled demeanor.

Nik flushed red. "Oh," he merely replied. "Maybe. I probably recorded over it though…some West Wing reruns…" Once again, Caroline took action, and instead of listening to his ridiculous excuses pushed the tape into his VHS. She was going to see what he was hiding on this damn videotape if it killed her.

Nik was about to protest, but he was cut off by the beginning of the tape. Caroline sat down on his sofa and watched, fascinated. She saw herself walking down the aisle with her father, and she grinned in appreciation of the breathtaking quality of Nik's cinematography. "This is beautiful…" Caroline murmured quietly. She could feel the nervousness radiating off of Nik, though. She couldn't see what he had to fear.

A couple minutes later, however, she knew exactly why he was sweating behind her. All of his footage was close-ups of her with Tyler basically nonexistent throughout the entire thing.

"This is all of me…isn't it?" Caroline asked quietly. She was astounded. He merely nodded, his face reddening as time went on.

Caroline had been unbelievably wrong about Nik. He didn't hate her at all. He _liked _her. All her anger toward him evaporated, and all she could feel was pity for this man who was in love with his best friend's girl. She wondered how long this had been going on, and more waves of pity came upon her.

"I have to go," Nik nearly whispered. "You can see yourself out, right?" He didn't wait for her to answer the question.

Before he was out the door, he said to her, "It's a form of self-preservation, Caroline." Caroline could hear the tears he was trying to hold back.

Nik then walked out the door of his own apartment, leaving Caroline alone to stare at the blue of the TV screen and comprehend what just happened.

* * *

Matt stood in his office, staring at the massive portrait of Margaret Thatcher as he contemplated his newest decision.

The night of his press conference speech, Matt had realized that Rebekah was a distraction he could not afford to have. She was too embedded into his emotions, and, as he told the sleazy President, politics and romance never mix. Therefore, he knew he had to make the decision to get her away from his political life.

He called in his assistant, Vicki, who was inside his office within seconds. He gave her a nervous smile. "Yes, Vicki. I need you to do me a favor."

She gave her a concerned look, and he knew he must look like a wreck. This was tougher than standing up to the President. "Of course, Prime Minister. What can I do?" she questioned.

"I'd like you to…redistribute Rebekah." When she gave Matt an inquisitive look, he shook his head. He was not going into details for anyone.

"Of course…" Vicki replied hesitantly. She promptly left the room to do his bidding.

Matt let out a breath he had been holding in for a very long time. He had done it. He was never going to see her again…the thought made him want to curl into a tiny ball. He missed Rebekah already. He had to start forgetting about her, now. It could never happen, and it never would.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So sorry for not updating this sooner! I hope you guys enjoy, and thank you for the reviews and follows! :) Tell me how you like this newest addition to the story!**

* * *

Alaric was working on grading his students' essays when Jeremy walked in with teary eyes. His attention instantly switched to his stepson. "What's wrong, Jere?" he asked with loving concern.

"Bonnie's moving back to America," Jere whined sadly. "This is the end of my life as I know it."

"She's American?" Alaric asked, not grasping the entire concept yet.

Jeremy nodded as if his stepfather should already know this. "Yes, she's American. And she's _leaving_ Ric!"

Alaric sighed sadly. "You know what we need?" Alaric asked the boy. Jeremy looked at Alaric questioningly. "We need Kate and Leo," Alaric answered. He stood up. "C'mon, Jere."

Alaric led Jeremy to the living room and popped in _Titanic_. It wasn't long before the two were fully invested into the movie, laughing and crying at all the right times. When Leo lifted Kate at the bow of the ship, Alaric picked Jeremy up and mockingly pretended to do the same, ending with tickling the young boy into oblivion. The two ended up laughing uncontrollably, and Jeremy fell onto the DVD remote, accidentally pausing the movie.

Finally, the two came down from their laughing high and paused in silence for a moment. "Y'know, Jere, if Bonnie is right for you, then things are going to work out," Alaric reassured Jeremy. "But you know, maybe she's not the only person out there for you."

Jeremy gave him an angry look. "She's the one," he declared.

Alaric nodded in acceptance. "Then we are going to work our asses off to get this girl for you. Understood?" Alaric smiled crookedly at Jeremy.

Jeremy grinned back in appreciation and hugged his stepdad. "Thank you!" He let go and ran upstairs to his room, leaving Alaric alone to stare at Kate and Leo on the bow of the _Titanic_, happy together.

* * *

_This is the end_, Damon thought to himself as he was driving Elena to Charles de Gaulle Airport. It was finally time to send Elena home to Portugal, and he couldn't say he wanted it to ever end. He had never been this sad in his life, or he believed he hadn't, and by the expression on Elena's face, he was almost positive she was feeling the same. His driving was distracted as he slowly drove closer and closer to the final destination, willing time to stop so she didn't have to leave him.

He once again tried to speak to her in her native tongue, and once again failed miserably, making Elena laugh almost happily at his attempts.

Finally, Damon pulled up at the side of the proper terminal, staring at the big 'Departures' sign in front of him. He got out of the car reluctantly and grabbed Elena's bags, handing them to her once she was on the curb. Elena took the bags and smiled up at the man she had come to know so well the past few weeks.

"Thank you," Elena said to Damon in Portuguese. Then, Elena did the unthinkable. She dropped her bags with a soft _thunk _and kissed Damon softly, putting all her recent feelings for him into the kiss.

Damon reacted after a split second and began kissing her back, but Elena pulled away before it could deepen too quickly. Damon groaned internally. She couldn't leave him like that…he lov—He quickly stopped his thoughts. No. He couldn't keep doing this…but she was so perfect…

By the time he got his thoughts together, Elena had already picked up her things and gone inside the airport, leaving Damon stunned and motionless.

Damon slowly got back into his car, letting his fingers run over his lips where she had kissed him. He was so distracted by what just occurred that he slammed into another car as he pulled away from the curb.

"Shit," he muttered angrily, hitting the steering wheel in frustration. What was happening to him?

* * *

Jeremy was walking home from school when he saw the release of rock superstar Mikael Mikaelson's music video for his Christmas hit, "Christmas is All Around." Jeremy stared at the multiple TV screens as the rocker lip synced his way through the song surrounded by half-naked women dancing provocatively behind him. It was then that Jeremy got the perfect idea on how to get Bonnie. He ran home to Alaric so he could share his idea.

Alaric heard the slam of the front door and Jeremy's running footsteps, and he pulled away from his computer to face his stepson.

"Ric!" Jeremy shouted. "I have the best, most perfect idea to get Bonnie!" he cried, dropping his backpack and making his way quickly to Alaric.

Alaric grins. "What is it, Jere?" he replies.

"Rockstars get girlfriends, right?" Jeremy asked Alaric. Alaric nodded in response. "So maybe…if I was a musician, Bonnie would fall in love with me!" Jeremy grinned, finding his plan flawless.

Alaric internally chuckled at the boy's eagerness. "That's an excellent idea!" he congratulated Jeremy. "There's just one small, super tiny problem…"

Jeremy sighed, already knowing the answer. "I can't play an instrument?" he replied using a questioning tone.

Alaric nodded. "That's ok. We can fix that."

Jeremy grinned happily. "Yes! We can do it! There's a winter concert at our school, and Bonnie's singing in it. If I can play the drums in the band absolutely perfectly, then she'll finally notice me!"

Alaric claps his hands together. "Done," he smiles. "Let's get to work!"

* * *

Tatia was at her corporate office's Christmas party watching her very married boss blatantly flirt with Jules the slut secretary while she stood alone draining a glass of ice cold champagne. She didn't notice Elijah when he came up behind her until he tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, almost spilling some of her champagne, but she quickly recovered and gave her crush a small smile.

"H-hi, Elijah," Tatia said politely.

Elijah smiled back with almost palpable nervousness. "Um, would you care to dance with me?" he asked Tatia politely. "Before it is too late?"

"M-me? You wanna dance…with me?" Tatia stuttered, not believing Elijah's request.

Elijah nods in agreement. "Yes, please, Tatia." Tatia internally giggled when she heard him say her name. It sounded like velvet when the word came out of his mouth, and she didn't ever think she could get over it. Tatia quickly nodded in acquiescence and followed him onto the dance floor. A slow Norah Jones song instantly began to play, and Elijah gently placed an arm around her waist and clasped her right hand with his left hand. They slowly swayed back and forth to the beat, losing themselves in each other.

Tatia reveled in the feel of his touch, loving every spark of sensation that poured through her every second. Feeling bold, she gently rested her head on his chest, and he pulled her closer in response. Tatia smiled giddily, not able to mentally accept what was transpiring. _How is this happening? How did I get so lucky? _Little did she know, Elijah was going through the same feelings and emotions in his own mind and body.

The couple didn't notice the song change; they merely continued to dance on through the rest of the night to their own tune, not able to recognize anything around them other than each other.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sooo I suck. I know, and I'm sorry. I hit a writer's block with how to make the Damon and Alaric parts interesting on paper. I took a lot of liberty with those scenes, so I hope that's ok. This chapter is also kind of bittersweet. The next one will hopefully be better (and on here more quickly), but we shall see when I have time to write this again. Ok, enjoy!**

* * *

Elijah took Tatia home after the party. She fumbled to open her door, a wave of awkwardness and nausea washing over her as she felt his eyes watching her intently. She pushed the door open and walked inside, turning to face Elijah who was leaning against the doorway with a small, polite smile, making Tatia's insides burn hungrily.

Tatia blushed slightly and offered him a nervous smile. "Thank you for seeing me home," she said to him softly.

"It was my pleasure," Elijah replied. His smile faded slightly. "I should go…"

Tatia's smile disappeared. This was by far her least favorite part of the night…she had had a fairytale night with him, something out of her most far-fetched dream. The only thing missing was the nightcap. Her insides heated up once again thinking about it…but apparently, that was off the table tonight.

"Alright…" she agreed reluctantly.

Elijah looked into Tatia's eyes for a moment, registering his crush's want for him. "On the contrary…I might be able to stay," he said lustfully, examining Tatia from head to toe.

Tatia's eyes lit up. "That's great! I mean…yeah, that's good…." She smiled up at him. "Just give me…" Tatia trailed off, thinking about the messy state of her bedroom. "You know what? Can you count to ten and then come in?"

Elijah chuckled. "Ok. But no longer," he joked.

Tatia nodded and rushed to her room, hurriedly picking up dirty clothes strewn out around the floor and pushing them into her small closet. She threw her childish teddy bear under her bed just as Elijah appeared in her bedroom doorway.

"Finished?" he asked with a small amused smile.

Tatia laughed nervously. "Um…yes." With that, she walked over to Elijah and kissed him for the first time, softly pressing her lips against his.

Elijah responded almost immediately, putting all his repressed feelings for her into his passionate, heated kiss. He gently bit against Tatia's bottom lip, asking for entrance.

Tatia opened her mouth for his tongue to enter quickly and eagerly. He ravaged her mouth while gently pushing her down onto her bed. He stopped kissing her so he could pull her dress up and over her head. She worked at the buttons on his shirt as he threw her dress to the floor. He kissed her neck softly as she discarded his shirt.

"You are beautiful, Tatia," Elijah told her lovingly. Tatia smiled, her dream now coming true.

She put her hands on his belt and began to work on it when her phone rang.

"Mmm…don't answer it," Elijah told her in between peppered kisses down her chest. He took off her bra with ease.

Tatia looked at the phone as he did so, biting her lip. It had to be Kol…who else would call her? "I…I have to," she finally said to Elijah, pulling away to answer Kol's call.

"Hi, darling," she said softly into the phone. "No, I'm not busy…" She gave Elijah an apologetic smile from under him. Elijah sat up and straddled her gently, obvious disappointment written on his face.

"What's wrong? Uh huh. I don't know if that's the best idea, little darling…now? Ok. Yes, I will come over." She sighed. "See you soon, Kol." She hung up and looked up at a confused and slightly hurt Elijah.

"My brother," Tatia quickly explained. "He's not well…" Tatia looked up into Elijah's perfect eyes, sadness emanating from her. "Our parents died, so it's up to me to take care of him…"

Elijah nodded in understanding. "I am very sorry."

"It's fine…well not really, but I'll survive." Tatia glanced back to her phone. "I can't believe I'm doing this to you…or to myself…" She ran a hand through her hair. "But I have to go to him."

The last glimmer of hope in Elijah's eyes died at that moment. He nodded and slowly got off her, reaching for his discarded shirt. Tatia grabbed her bra and quickly put it back on. "I'm sorry," she said to him quietly.

Elijah swallowed back emotion. "Sure. I understand, Tatia." He finished getting dressed. "Shall I escort you out?"

Tatia grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt and put them on. "I...no, it's ok," Tatia finally replied. It was time to let her crush on Elijah go. Her first priority was family, was Kol. She couldn't abandon him for the most amazing man she'd ever met…no, she couldn't.

Elijah looked Tatia over one last time, knowing this would most likely be the end of their budding relationship. "Good night, Tatia," he concedes. He then takes his leave, heading down her stairs and out the door.

Tatia, fully clothed, sat on her bed and put her head in her hands, soft tears flowing down her face. Love would have to wait until her life was ready for it.

* * *

Damon looked up at the language school with obvious apprehension. He held his _Portuguese for Dummies _book limply at his side as he stared at the front door. After a couple seconds, he sauntered to the door and opened it. He walked up to the front desk, holding his book more tightly now.

"I would like to sign up for your Portuguese class," he said to an older, heavy-set woman working the front desk. The woman looked up at him and took in the man in front of her.

"Portuguese, eh? Why not Spanish? It's a lot more useful, you know," the woman pointed out to him.

Damon's resolve steeled. "I want the Portuguese class. Please," he offered at the end.

The woman nodded and signed him up for the class. Damon glanced around as she did so, wondering if anyone he knew would be there. He turned back to the woman after a quick scan.

"Here's your papers," the woman told him, handing him a packet of different materials. Damon took them quickly and headed toward the room where the class was being held.

After one hour of the class, Damon already heard his improvement in the language. He could now say common phrases like "Olá" and meu nome é Damon". He also learned the phrase "Eu tenho uma dor de estômago terrível," or I've got a terrible stomachache. Damon left and got in his car, happy that he had made progress toward being able to connect with Elena again when he next saw her…if he ever did see her again.

He shrugged off his morbid thoughts and got into his car, placing a learning Portuguese CD into his CD player and copying the instructor on the disc.

* * *

Alaric was waiting for Jeremy to come out of drum practice. At first, he hadn't wanted to spend the money on lessons, but Jeremy had been banging so obstreperously and so off beat that Alaric figured the only way to get Jeremy better was to pay for a teacher. So here he was, watching as Jeremy trekked to the car with his drumsticks in his right hand.

Jeremy got in the car and put on his seatbelt. Alaric smiled at the boy. "How'd it go?" he asked.

Jeremy smiled slightly. "Well. I'm getting much better." He paused for a second, then continued. "Bonnie was there."

Alaric raised his eyebrows. "Did she notice you yet?" he smiled.

Jeremy's tiny smile faded at the mention of Alaric's question. "No. But in romances, the couple only gets together at the end, right?" Jeremy questioned hopefully.

Alaric, after the slightest pause, nodded in agreement. "Of course. How could I have forgotten?" he grinned, lightly punching Jeremy in the arm. "Sorry, Jere."

Jeremy instantly replied, "I don't mind." After a comfortable silence, Jeremy said abruptly, "How is your love life?"  
Alaric burst into laughter at the question. "I don't have one. Unless Claudia Schiffer decides to give me a chance," he joked. "Then you'll have to find a friend to stay with."

Jeremy's face twisted into a disgusted grimace.

Alaric laughed again. "We'll be having sex in every room. Even yours!" he continued to tease.

Jeremy made a gagging noise. "I shouldn't have asked," he finally admitted.

Alaric chuckled. "Of course you shouldn't have." He parked the car. "Now go do your homework before you start practicing the drums," he ordered.

Jeremy nodded and got out of the car, heading up the stairs to his room. Alaric laughed once more when he was alone, thinking about the improbability of ever having another woman in his life. Jenna had been his everything. He couldn't think of ever feeling the same way again, and that was the saddest part of it all.


	10. Chapter 10

Christmas Eve had come much too fast for Damon. As he parked in front of his father's house, he glanced over at the small pile of gifts he had brought that was lying on the passenger seat of his car. He swallowed as he looked at the wrapped box that was to be his brother's gift. He had gotten the gift before Caroline's wedding. Before he knew what a backstabbing, lying dick his brother really was.

Damon made himself stop contemplating his lost relationship with Stefan and Katherine. He grabbed the presents and got out of his car, striding confidently to his father's door. He knocked and was soon greeted by the door slowly opening.

Damon's jaw dropped as he looked Katherine over. She was the last person he expected to see. Had she and Stefan really gotten that serious in 5 weeks?

Damon nodded politely at his ex-love. "Happy Christmas, Katherine," he said emotionlessly.

Katherine gave him a seductive smile. "Damon. I've missed you," she replied. She looked over all the presents in Damon's arms. "I hope one of those is for me," she giggled half-jokingly.

Stefan then walked up behind Katherine, putting an arm around her waist. "Damon," Stefan grinned. "Happy Christmas, brother."

Damon stared at the happy couple that was Stefan and Katherine. The mixture of hurt and betrayal threatened to tear him from the inside out. He hadn't thought either of them would be as cruel as to flaunt their affair in his face. He knew now that his brother was as dead to him as his disappointed father. No one wanted him in this family anymore, and he sure as hell didn't need them. Not when he had Elena.

Elena. He needed to find her. He needed to be with her. She was who he wanted as family, not Stefan or Katherine or his father. He only wanted her. He was going to make her his.

He dropped the presents at his feet, startling Stefan and Katherine. "I have a girl to find," he declared, storming off back toward his car.

Fuck his family. He was going to find Elena.

* * *

Caroline was sitting on the couch watching a Christmas movie with Tyler. They had decided to skip Christmas Eve with the family and just spend the night together. Tyler's ostentatious parents could wait until tomorrow for family time.

Caroline cuddled into Tyler, enjoying the warmth of his body against hers. She repositioned herself so as to be more comfortable and continued to watch the movie.

Tyler kissed the top of her head softly. "I love you," he murmured to Caroline. She giggled softly.

She was about to respond with her own declaration of love when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," she smiled at Tyler. She kissed him quickly and then went down the stairs to the front door. She swung it open quickly and found Nik on the other side.

"Oh…hi," Caroline greeted him awkwardly. She hadn't seen him since watching the wedding footage. To be honest, she didn't quite know what to say to him. What do you tell your husband's best friend when he's in love with you?

Nik put a finger to his lips. Caroline frowned. Then she noticed the boombox and the numerous massive poster boards he was carrying. He held up the first poster board, which said, "Tell Tyler it's carol singers."

Caroline, still frowning, nodded. "It's just carol singers!" she yelled to Tyler up the stairs. Tyler laughed and turned the TV to a sports channel while he waited for Caroline to finish up.

Nik put the boombox down and pressed play. Carol music played softly out of the speakers. He then put the first poster board down and showed Caroline the second one, which stated, "With any luck, by next year I'll be going out with one of these girls." He grinned jokingly and showed her a third board full of sexy, near-naked models. Caroline laughed at Nik.

Nik smirked and continued with his fourth card. "But for now let me say…without hope or agenda…" He grabbed the fifth card: "Because it's Christmas (and at Christmas you tell the truth)…" He swallowed, as if preparing himself for something. Caroline's gaze turned soft.

Nik showed Caroline the sixth card. "To me, you are perfect."

Caroline's heart stopped. She gasped softly, not knowing how to react. Nik continued to grin at her, his gaze transfixed on her facial expression. He watched as she passed through the emotions of surprise, slight embarrassment, compassion, and the tiniest hint of what he thought was love. Tiny as it was, it was enough for Nik.

Regaining his confidence, he continued with the seventh card. "My wasted heart will love you until you look like this." Nik pulled out his eighth card of a mummified dead woman. Caroline giggled again, the compassion and love still in her eyes.

Nik bowed and smiled at her. "Happy Christmas," he murmured softly, his blue orbs staring directly into her green ones.

Caroline smiled softly. "Merry Christmas, Nik."

With that, Nik stopped the boombox, grabbed his things, and turned to leave. Caroline watched his retreating form, a mixture of emotions flowing through her. She had never seen a kind side of him before now, and she was taken aback by his declaration of love for her. If she had met him before Tyler…but she couldn't think that way. She loved Tyler more than anything in the world, and she would never leave him. Nik knew that, and she knew that. However, thanking Nik for the gesture once again wouldn't hurt….

Caroline ran after Nik, who was already halfway down the block. She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. He looked down into her green eyes once again. Caroline cupped his face and softly kissed him, letting her emotions pour out through the kiss. Nik kissed Caroline back with equal passion, dropping his things so that his hands would be free to put on her waist.

Caroline pulled away gently, a small happy smile on her face. "Thank you." She kissed his cheek. "I won't forget this." With that, she ran back to the home she shared with Tyler as Nik watched with a satisfied smile.

"Enough now," he declared, re-picking up his things and sauntering away toward his home.

* * *

Matt watched television as he read a sample of the thousands of Christmas cards he had received. Each one was basically the same: Happy Christmas, You are loved by your people, Keep standing up to America, We will vote for your reelection when the time comes, Love *insert English family name here*. Matt sighed as he continued to read the letters. He hated thinking that he was bored, but everything was so repetitive. He hoped the next letter would be more interesting.

He was not disappointed. He recognized the handwriting almost immediately: Rebekah's. Matt began to read. He laughed as he noticed how her writing reflected the personality he had come to love so much. It said:

Dear Matt,

Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a Happy New Year. I'm sorry about what happened. I know I'm an idiot, especially because...well, I'm yours.

With love,

Your Rebekah.

Matt stared at the letter, shocked by her confession. She was his…she was his. He kept repeating it in his mind. Rebekah was his. He held the card tightly, examining its contents once again. She was his.

He had to find her. He thought back to when Rebekah had told him where she lived. _"Wandsworth, the dodgy end_." It was a big area to cover, but he would go door to door until he found her. He had to.

Matt grabbed the phone and called his assistant. "I need a town car immediately. Thank you." He hung up and ran to get his shoes. He quickly tied them and jogged outside, jumping into the car.

"Where are we going, sir?" the chauffeur inquired.

"Wandsworth," Matt declared. "The dodgy end."


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to all the Story and Author Favorites and Followers! There's about 2 chapters left after this one along with the epilogue, so we're almost to the end of this story! Hopefully you guys enjoy the extreme Mabekah that is this chapter. Please leave a review if you feel so inclined. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Matt stared down the intimidatingly long street from the backseat of his town car. "This is the longest street in the world," he groaned. It wouldn't have been a problem had he known what Rebekah's house number was.

He had the chauffeur pull to the side of the beginning of the street. When the car was fully parked, he got out and headed toward the first door: #1. The chauffeur stood behind Matt dutifully as Matt knocked on the door.

Matt was greeted by a kindly, old woman. He gave her a warm smile. "Good evening, ma'am. Does a Rebekah live here?"

The old woman looked taken aback by the question. "No," she said, a hint of surprise coating her voice.

Matt nodded, slightly disappointed. He had known his luck wasn't excellent, but he had hoped the first time would be the charm. "Well, thank you. Sorry to bother you."

The woman looked him over once more. "Aren't you…why, you're the Prime Minister!" she exclaimed.

Matt smiled slightly. "Yes, yes I am. It's a new service we're doing…we have to get through the rest of the street by New Year's," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. The chauffeur held back a grin. "Merry Christmas," Matt finished.

Slowly but surely, Matt went door to door with his chauffeur down the street, confronted by everything from a vicious guard dog to little girls insisting he sing them carols. He knocked on door #100, his fist barely making contact with the door. A pretty young girl opened the door.

"Does Rebekah live here?" Matt asked the girl, exhaustion present in his tone.

The girl frowned. "No," she responded. "She lives next door."

Matt's eyes lit up at the revelation. He grinned excitedly. "Thank you, um…"

"Jules," the girl replied, providing him with her name. "Are you who I think you are?"

Matt nodded. "Yes, sorry to intrude. Our cabinet will do better next year," he joked. "Merry Christmas."

Matt left Jules' door and all but ran to the next door over: #102. He would never forget that number. He knocked on the door, his vitality renewed. The door swung open to reveal a large family all ready to leave the house. At the top of the stairs stood Rebekah, yelling at no one in particular, "Where the hell is my fucking coat?"

Finally, Matt's eyes locked with Rebekah's. Rebekah's cheeks turned deep scarlet as the entire family looked between her and the Prime Minister.

After a long moment of silence, Rebekah finally said, "Hello."

Matt grinned happily. "Hello, Rebekah. And family," he added.

"Um, this is my mum and dad, and my aunts and uncles, and my little cousins," Rebekah informed Matt. "And um, this is the Prime Minister," she told her family.

Rebekah's mom nodded. "We can see that, Bekah..." The family continued to stand in shock along with Rebekah.

"We actually have a school Christmas play to get to," Rebekah told Matt reluctantly. "We're rather late."

"Oh," Matt responded, feeling slightly dejected. After all that work…no, he wasn't going to let her get away that easily. He was going to talk to her. "I needed you on some state business."

"You stay, Plumpy," Rebekah's dad conceded. "Er, Rebekah," he corrected himself.

Matt raised his eyebrows at the inappropriate nickname Rebekah's father had given her. "I wouldn't want her to miss the play…I'll just give you all a ride there, and we can talk in the car?"

Rebekah nodded. "That would be perfect," she smiled at him. The family nodded in agreement, and they all headed out the door. The family stuffed into the town car minus Rebekah and one of her cousins. They went with Matt into a second car that had been following Matt's town car. The boy's octopus costume stretched the length of the backseat, separating Rebekah and Matt from each other.

Matt leaned over the octopus legs to get closer to Rebekah. "Thank you for the Christmas card," he told her. "That's all I really wanted to say…"

Rebekah giggled softly. "You're welcome, Sir. I mean Matt." Her smile then faded considerably. "I'm so sorry about that day, Matt. I didn't do anything, he came to me, and he was the President of the United States, and I didn't know what I was supposed to do, but nothing happened, I swear. And now I feel so stupid because I think about you every second of every day. I think of your gorgeous blue eyes and your blond hair and your hidden sarcasm and your beautifully human personality. I think you're the one I really—"

"We're here!" the young boy yelled, cutting off Rebekah's rambling. Matt sighed in annoyance. He had wanted her to finish, wanted to hear the word that had been plaguing his mind for days.

Matt opened the door for the boy, who instantly climbed over Matt, the octopus legs of his costume slapping Matt and Rebekah in the face. Matt and Rebekah both laughed at the awkward situation they were currently in.

Matt looked out at the school they were parked in front of. "I better not come in…the last thing people want is some slimy politician ruining the spotlight for all those kids." He looked at Rebekah, not wanting to say goodbye to her, but knowing he couldn't go in without being called a douche bag by over a hundred parents.

"You have to come," Rebekah insisted. Her hand wrapped around his wrist as she tried to pull him out of the car. Matt felt sparks from the touch, a burning electricity he had never experienced before.

Rebekah looked up into his eyes pleadingly. "You'll love it. I'll make sure you won't be seen."

Matt looked back into her hopeful blue eyes and instantly broke down. "Alright. I'm coming."

Rebekah grinned in anticipation. "Brilliant. Follow me."

* * *

It was time. Jeremy was pacing backstage at the Christmas show, tapping his drumsticks against air as he re-memorized his drum part for Bonnie's song. The melody replayed in his head over and over. He heard the nativity play going on onstage, but it didn't distract him. He had to have his part perfect, or Bonnie would never notice him. She would never think he was worthy of her time. He had to be perfect.

Jeremy heard the applause that signaled the end of the play. The curtain closed, and Jeremy ran to his drum kit, staring at the instrument that would either be his success or his ultimate failure. He glanced over at Bonnie, who was lowering the mic stand so that it would be at her height. She didn't look anywhere except at the dark curtain that separated her and the rest of the kids from the large crowd waiting to hear her sing.

"Mystic Falls Elementary School would now like to present its Christmas number. Lead vocals by ten-year-old Bonnie Bennett, backing vocals coordinated by her grandmother, the great Mrs. Sheila Bennett. Let's welcome Mystic Falls Elementary to the stage!" the emcee for the night proclaimed.

The curtain rolled up, revealing a packed audience to Jeremy, Bonnie, and the rest of the Mystic Falls students.

Bonnie began the first notes of her song. In the audience, Alaric took instant notice of the American girl's raw talent. He was shocked by every note, not expecting that level of vocal prowess from a ten-year-old. He began to understand his stepson's fascination with the girl.

Jeremy hit the first drum beat on time, grinning to himself in satisfaction for not missing his cue. He saw Alaric in the audience, and his grin widened. He took a small beat to wave to his stepfather before getting back to the drumming. He stared at Bonnie as she sang while he kept his rhythm perfect, just for her.

Bonnie never missed a note, and Jeremy never missed a beat. The song went without a hitch. Jeremy was waiting for the finale, where the second curtain would lift, and an entire Christmas set would be revealed, made by the rest of the Mystic Falls students.

As the finale hit, the second curtain raised, but what was there was something no one expected.

* * *

Matt and Rebekah made their way to the back of the stage where Matt could see the Mystic Falls kids playing "All I Want for Christmas is You" on stage. He grinned at the simplicity of the kids, loving their innocence and missing his own. Politics was not a place for innocence, but Matt had tried to stay honest all the same. As he thought about his life choices, Rebekah held his hand in hers, her head resting on his shoulder.

"We have to keep this quiet," he whispered to her. "I don't want you getting hounded by the press."

Rebekah sighed. "I don't care about the press, Matt," she responded. "I just want you."

"Still. Let's just…lay low for a while, alright?" Matt insisted.

Rebekah frowned slightly. "Alright. Just for a little while."

Matt saw someone's shadow turn the corner. "We have to move," he urged Rebekah, taking her hand more tightly and pulling her to behind a second curtain in the middle of the stage. No one would come back here.

"Better?" Rebekah asked dubiously, a slight smirk on her face.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Much, actually." He looked down into her gleaming blue eyes. In that moment, he knew he loved her. He was consumed by her, and he wasn't holding back anymore. He wanted her in his life, and he was going to have her in his life. She was the answer to his problems.

Matt leaned down to kiss Rebekah softly for the first time. Rebekah met his lips halfway. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down farther so that their lips could more properly meet.

Locked in a frenzy of passion, they did not notice the curtain pull up and reveal every single person in the audience, who was now staring at them.

Matt felt the heat of the lights and instantly pulled away from Rebekah. He stared out into the crowd in shock.

Rebekah stood frozen. "What do we do?" she whispered worriedly.

"This is where we wave and nod with a smile," Matt whispered back to her, raising his hand up and waving in a regal fashion. A grin took a hold of his face. He let out a small laugh at the incredulity of the situation. Rebekah followed suit, smiling and waving as viewers took hundreds of pictures of the two of them behind the children. _So much for keeping it secret, _Matt thought. But in that moment, he didn't care so long as Rebekah was at his side.


End file.
